Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to uphold the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached in January, speaking during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
“As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately, Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the Qatari ruler, whose country served as a key mediator of the deal.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Video: Reuters)
Sheikh Tamim added that Qatar would “strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”
The Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas — brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States — went into effect on January 19, temporarily halting over 15 months of hostilities following the Hamas-led massacre on October 7.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
(Photo: Alexander Nemenov / AP)
The initial phase of the ceasefire ended in early March after both sides failed to agree on further terms. On March 18, Israel resumed air and ground operations across the Gaza Strip after previously pausing the entry of humanitarian aid.
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In an interview broadcast Thursday on the Christian Daystar channel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Qatar of fueling anti-Israel sentiment on U.S. university campuses. It marked the first time he publicly held the Gulf state responsible for what he described as a “rot” in American academic institutions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with Christian Daystar
(Video: Christian Daystar)
“Qatar may have helped us reach a ceasefire — a temporary one — but they did so while hosting Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu said. “You can’t fund the arsonists and the firefighters at the same time. You have to choose. Choose a side.”
He further accused Qatar of promoting anti-Israel and anti-American narratives through its state-funded broadcaster Al-Jazeera. “You see it, unfortunately, in Al Jazeera Arabic, which promotes anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism, woven together,” he said.
The exchange of accusations comes as Israeli authorities investigate allegations involving close advisors to Netanyahu, with claims that they received money from Qatar aimed at improving the Gulf state’s image during the war.